Oct. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Co-Operative Group Ltd., the British
mutual whose businesses range from supermarkets to funeral
homes, said Chairman Len Wardle will step down as the company
prepares to hand control of its bank to creditors.

Wardle will retire in May, Manchester, England-based Co-Operative said in a statement today. He joined Co-Operative in
1992 and has been chairman since 2007.

“In August this year, I informed the board that it was my
intention to step down at the end of my term,” Wardle said in
the statement. “The Co-Operative is at its best when it is
reforming and I want this change to continue.”

Co-Operative is being forced to hand over control of its
banking unit as part of a deal to plug a 1.5 billion-pound ($2.4
billion) capital shortfall at the lender. Bank of England Deputy
Governor Andrew Bailey told lawmakers in July the main cause Co-Operative Bank’s losses was its purchase of Britannia Building
Society in 2009.